sammie101

We got up at 7am to get the bus to Kyaiktiyo to spend the night before visiting the Golden Rock. We were all anxious of what awaited us as we waited for our 6 hour bus; we had all seen the pickup trucks crammed with 30 roasting locals, we had all experienced the taxis and actually seen firsthand a large clumsy traffic collision right outside our guesthouse. The bus actually wasn’t too bad. Still about 30 years old, but it did have seats fixed firmly to the still-intact floor panels. It wasn’t the worst thing I have experienced, but I didn’t enjoy it. While the scenery from my seat was spectacularly gorgeous, I missed the roof racks of the Philippines to be honest! 6 sweaty hours later we arrived in the dusty, sleepy village of Kyiaktiyo. ... read more

As the plane pulled up at the gate, Anette and I exchanged eager looks at the sight of the terminal. The intricately decorated golden spires glistened in the pure blue skies above the building and I knew we were in for something special. I already feel like this country will take over my soul. Sharing large borders with Thailand, India and China, I expected something of a mysterious mix of these wonderfully exciting and enthralling cultures. Burma is fucking hot. Again, we have arrived at the low season, due to the mid 40’s sweltering heat. Locals can’t even handle the current heat of the day. It is totally different from everywhere else. Bits of the rest of my travels could be interchanged with any other country, but not here. It feels like adventure travels of old ... read more

With the event of the Icelandic Volcano cocking things up for Europeans worldwide, my mum was stuck in Singapore with me. Shame. So she decided, for the weekend, it was a good bet to travel with me to Indonesia. First stop was a beautiful little island called Bintan, a short ferry ride from Singapore. Of course she wasn’t thrilled at my plans for economy class and budget weekend, so we rocked up onto the business class seats in the most comfortably seated ferry I have ever experienced (showing Michael Jacksons ‘History tour’ DVD on the 42” widescreen no less!) After a short coach ride (air-con no less) we arrived at the 5* Bintan Lagoon Resort to the locals playing their wooden instruments and dancing in their traditional dress. The hotel was gorgeous and I eagerly ran ... read more

The biggest nightmare of travelling in the Philippines is you are always unsure of the true cost of something, no matter who you have spoken to or how much research you have done, every trip you will be stung by some unexpected cost. On departing Bohol for Cebu, we found, in addition to our greatly overpriced ferry tickets, a ‘terminal fee’, an ‘environmental fee’ and a ‘ticket charge’. I don’t even know where to start with the last one! However, the ferry was enjoyable. I rocked out in my seat to the music that Tom had transferred for me and kept one eye on the film being shown in our nice deck. 2 hours later we were in a taxi once more, the Norwegians sleeping in the back (the world is too big for them). I ... read more

On my return to Manila with the Americans we had a nasty shock or two; quite literally - I was electrocuted in the shower which was very upsetting, feeling so vulnerable at the time... We were then told there were no beds at that guesthouse or any other in the few mile radius due to the Easter weekend, on top of that all transport was shut down and we would be stuck in the hole that is Manila for the weekend (The city is undoubtedly one of the worst I have ever seen; everything is cracked, broken, malodorous and dirty). Devastated, I tried to re-book my flight back to HK while Matt and Josh graciously searched for a bed for the night. During their absence I met Tom and Iselin, two Norwegians. Shortly after, Matt returned ... read more